By Bruce Riley Ashford
Most people know of Ben Carson from his 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. The neurosurgeon-turned-politician speaks often about his Christian faith, and he encourages believers to get involved in civic affairs.
As U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Carson now helps shape federal policy on a wide range of issues facing American cities. We invited him to set politics aside and talk about Scripture with Bruce Riley Ashford, author of Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians (Lexham Press, 2015).
By Jessi Strong
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND POVERTY
Many corners of the world have seen their share of war and its aftermath, but few have experienced the depths of violence that have taken place over the past 20 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2002, The Economist magazine called it “the most miserable place on earth.” Confronted by the country’s devastation, one Christian scholar is working to show God’s love and care to the most vulnerable survivors.
Reading someone else’s mail is usually considered rude. Christians do it all the time. In fact, pastors encourage it: “Read what Paul wrote to the Colossians.” That letter wasn’t written to us! Yet as Christians we believe it wasn’t just for the folks living in Colossae. God still speaks to us through that old letter.
It was a red-letter day. Twenty-eight years before, in the old gym of a small school in a one-stoplight town, I asked a 14-year-old girl to “go steady” with me. That young lady would eventually lead me to the Lord and later become my wife.